59 replies to this topic

[Dogstar]

For me one of the enjoyable parts of the early novels was the exploding mechs, which is also known as Stackpoling thanks the that authors overuse of it.

If your mech dies from overheating do you think it should explode doing the equivalent of an artillery strike to nearby mechs? Some people already launch an arty or air strike at their own location if they know they're going to die surrounded by enemies so it wouldn't be any different than that just not requiring you to use an arty strike (but maybe it could cost you 40K from your match winnings to balance it)

Or are you a killjoy with no love for exploding robots?

[Athom83]

Yay

[Bombast]

Unsupported by lore, creates a visual mess that will impact performance, and inspires more cowardice, even in the face of an already dead foe.

No thanks.

[Rick T Dangerous]

Yes! Holy frell, YES!

Make them go BOOM again!

The chain reaction that can result from this is just the perfect ending to a brawl.

[Dogstar]

Ooh I hadn't considered chain reactions!

That would be EPIC!!!

[El Bandito]

Would be cool, but for PGI MWO is an "e-sport", so they will never do Stackpoling.

[Dogstar]

bunch of spoilsports

[Rakshasa]

Bombast, on 11 October 2017 - 05:57 AM, said:

Unsupported by lore, creates a visual mess that will impact performance, and inspires more cowardice, even in the face of an already dead foe.

No thanks.

I keed, I keed But I mean, honestly, who doesn't love explosions in their giant robot entertainment?

Stackpoling might be a bit OTT, but rippling explosions, fire and smoke as a 'Mech's internal systems are critted and limbs blown off, finally climaxing with a spectacle like this?



Yes please. The wet fart of smoke and debris we have now might be more realistic, but it's a lot less satisfying. Having destroyed mechs go up like the 4th of July would be awesome.

Maybe not the damage-to-nearby-mechs thing though. It worked in Mechcommander, but in a multiplayer shooter it might get annoying fast. On the other hand, it might reduce deathballing. Hmm...

Edited by Rakshasa, 11 October 2017 - 06:28 AM.

[MeiSooHaityu]

No

I understand that Stackpoling is cool, however it was created for dramatic effect in the novels (and adapted for the likes of MW4). It really isn't a BattleTech thing other than that. A Mech's engine is destroyed, it powers down and ceases to function. It doesn't look as cool, but it is correct.

Some have mentioned the sort of air burst effect and Sarna.net mentions it, nut it is EXTREMELY rare and I am assuming is more mentioned to help keep books within continuity of the franchise as a whole.

"Normal thermal expansion of the air causes the air to burst out in a brilliant lightshow often mistaken for a "nuclear explosion". This thermal expansion damages anything within 90 meters of the destroyed 'Mech.

Such dramatic failures are rare, though. It is difficult to sustain the fusion reaction and very easy to shut down. Safety systems or damage to containment coils will almost always shut down the engine before such an explosion occurs." - Sarna.net

Besides, what good is a mech for defense, when if one explodes, it destroys what it was assigned to defend?

Edited by MeiSooHaityu, 11 October 2017 - 06:35 AM.

[process]

Yes to modest explosions reflecting stages of damage and destruction. A dead mech slumping over might be realistic but it sure is underwhelming.

The explosions in MW4 were always pretty terrifying, and I do think those would make the gameplay less fun, however I could see at least a small heatspike in the immediate vicinity of an exploding mech.

[Paigan]

Bombast, on 11 October 2017 - 05:57 AM, said:

Unsupported by lore, creates a visual mess that will impact performance, and inspires more cowardice, even in the face of an already dead foe.

No thanks.

The lore thing would be my point as well. (Damn you, Bombast again ).
If the BattleMech technology is described as Mechs exploding on death, at least if their reactor is destroyed, then yes, otherwise no. If such explosions are not in that universe, they are not. Simple as that.

And there's nothing worse than clueless authors just making up inconsistent stuff because it's "cool" on a superficial level.

Maybe one could argue if such explosions SHOULD be in the lore.
I imagine if every Mech can turn into a bomb (maybe even a nuclear?) upon death, it would heavily impact combat tactics. E.g. no Mech being allowed to come under 100 meters or so of an allied Mech.
Would we want something like that? Would that still be "cool"?
I don't think so.

As cool as some big a$$ explosion upon death might be on a superficial (read: childish) level, it's rather dumb and counterproductive if one thinks it through.

So, uhm, no.



edit:

Rakshasa, on 11 October 2017 - 06:26 AM, said:

Bombast, on 11 October 2017 - 05:57 AM, said:

Unsupported by lore, creates a visual mess that will impact performance, and inspires more cowardice, even in the face of an already dead foe.

No thanks.

I keed, I keed But I mean, honestly, who doesn't love explosions in their giant robot entertainment?
[...]

Amusing.
Guess I'll stay with Bombast in the boring adult's corner.

Edited by Paigan, 11 October 2017 - 06:40 AM.

[MeiSooHaityu]

process, on 11 October 2017 - 06:36 AM, said:

Yes to modest explosions reflecting stages of damage and destruction. A dead mech slumping over might be realistic but it sure is underwhelming.

The explosions in MW4 were always pretty terrifying, and I do think those would make the gameplay less fun, however I could see at least a small heatspike in the immediate vicinity of an exploding mech.

Modest would be perfectly fine. Heck, even something a bit more explode-y or fire-y I think would be fine.



I just wouldn't do anything that resembles a nuke going off and doing damage within a 90m radius lol.

[Bombast]

Paigan, on 11 October 2017 - 06:36 AM, said:

The lore thing would be my point as well. (Damn you, Bombast again ).

To be fair, it's not just a lore thing. If it added something good to the game, I'd be for it.

But what I see isn't good. I see people with minimum viable computers having massive performance issues every time someone dies. I see brawling getting even less attractive because the risk of some **** blowing himself up to spite you is too great. I see people raging on the maps that require you to turn on the filters as explosions blind them. I definitely see people suicide trolling the enemy and their own teams.

I see a whole lot more negative stuff than positive.

[Novakaine]

Stackpoling would be a great addition.
It would help keep crotch huggin commando's at bay.

Edited by Novakaine, 11 October 2017 - 06:51 AM.

[Admiral-Dan]

Dogstar, on 11 October 2017 - 05:42 AM, said:

Or are you a killjoy with no love for exploding robots?

MeiSooHaityu, on 11 October 2017 - 06:43 AM, said:

I just wouldn't do anything that resembles a nuke going off and doing damage within a 90m radius lol.

This would bring trolling to a whole new level, overheating and Team-Killing half of your team.

Edited by AlphaEtOmega, 11 October 2017 - 06:50 AM.

[Mystere]

I logged in all the way from the mountains of Andorra to say:

Yes! Yes! Yes!

Edited by Mystere, 11 October 2017 - 06:59 AM.

[Rakshasa]

Novakaine, on 11 October 2017 - 06:48 AM, said:

Stackpoling would be a great addition.
It would help keep crotch huggin commando's at bay.

To be fair, if MWO had melee it would do the job just as well. Commandos might be much less inclined to hug the crotches of Assaults if they risked being punted like footballs for doing so.

[Paigan]

Bombast, on 11 October 2017 - 06:48 AM, said:

To be fair, it's not just a lore thing. If it added something good to the game, I'd be for it.

But what I see isn't good. I see people with minimum viable computers having massive performance issues every time someone dies. I see brawling getting even less attractive because the risk of some **** blowing himself up to spite you is too great. I see people raging on the maps that require you to turn on the filters as explosions blind them. I definitely see people suicide trolling the enemy and their own teams.

I see a whole lot more negative stuff than positive.

Yeah. As I said: it could always be discussed if it SHOULD be in the game.
I, too, see more problems than benefits.

It's funny to compare all the elaborate posts of the yay-folks to that .

[Bombast]

Mystere, on 11 October 2017 - 06:58 AM, said:

I logged in all the way from the mountains of Andorra...

Is it bad that my first thought was that you were referencing Andoria and not the Andorra?

[Mystere]

El Bandito, on 11 October 2017 - 06:11 AM, said:

Would be cool, but for PGI MWO is an "e-sport", so they will never do Stackpoling.

And this is where I give my obligatory: **** eSports!

Edited by Mystere, 11 October 2017 - 07:09 AM.